In a recent paper for the National Center for Employee Ownership, Corey Rosen finds that people who work for employee-owned companies are much less likely to be laid off than those who do not. Analyzing data from the 2010 General Social Survey, Rosen shows that 12.1 percent of all working adults in the private sector reported being laid off in the last year compared to just 2.6 percent of those respondents who says they own stock in their company through some kind of employee ownership plan. Rosen estimates that during that year the implied federal savings from the lower layoff rates of employee owners is $23.3 billion and that the implied savings for ESOPs and stock bonus plans alone is $13.7 billion.
Enterprise Community Partners released this update to its National Mortgage Settlement report which shows that less than half of the $25 billion from the National Mortgage Settlement is being allocated for housing related uses.Researchers Andrew Jakabovics and William McHale found that while the majority of states are directing most, if not all, of their funds toward housing activities, the largest recipients are not. Instead, these states have directed their share to state general funds or left the final use undetermined. Among the states that did allocate their share of funds to housing related uses, most set aside funds for homeowner legal assistance and housing counseling programs. However, they also found that for these states, the actual process of disbursing the funds is more complicated, and lengthier, than might be assumed.
The fourth in a series from the Center for Responsible Lending, this report examines the economic impact on homeowners living in neighborhoods suffering from foreclosures.Relying on Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) and Lender Processing Services (LPS) data, the authors find that $1.95 trillion in property value has been lost by residents living in close proximity to foreclosures, over half of that loss is experienced by communities of color, and that families affected by nearby foreclosures have lost, or will lose, more than $21,000 in household wealth by virtue of their proximity. In addition to the immediate financial consequences for families that lose their homes, such as a loss of equity and financial cushion, communities with high rates of foreclosures also suffer long-term consequences, such as a loss of tax revenue and a proliferation of blight.
The Debt Resistors Operations Manual, put together by an anonymous collective of activists from Strike Debt and Occupy Wall Street contains practical information, resources and tips for individuals dealing with indebtedness in the United States. Covering all aspects of the debt system — from personal debt to municipal debt — the manual shows how households, cities and countries are controlled by a system of debt.
